Liam Neeson Eyes Lead Role in 'Naked Gun' Reboot Movie
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We know Liam Neeson is brilliant at playing the tough guy, but now he's eyeing up a role as a tough guy who's also really funny. Deadline reports that the Northern Irish actor is in talks to star in a Naked Gun reboot movie.
He would take over from the late Leslie Nielsen, who starred in three Naked Gun movies that came out between 1988 and 1994. Nielsen had originated his Naked Gun character, bumbling but fundamentally lovable cop Frank Drebin, in the 1982 TV series Police Squad!.
The Naked Gun movies were popular spoofs sending up the tropes of the crime genre, so it makes sense that funnyman Seth MacFarlane is one of the producers behind the reboot. Akiva Schaffer, a member of comedy group The Lonely Island, is on board as director.
Neeson wouldn't be playing Frank Debin, but the son of Nielsen's much-loved character, which seems like a classy way to continue the franchise. Nielsen passed away in 2010 at age 84.
Though Neeson is best known for his action and drama roles, he recently showed off his comedy chops with a cameo in Derry Girls, the hit sitcom set in his homeland of Northern Ireland. We'll see him next in Marlowe, a thriller film in which he plays a private detective, which is due in theaters on December 2.
Can you picture Liam Neeson in a Naked Gun movie?